Publications

“Blind Spots to the Polio Eradication Endgame: Measuring the Limitations of Polio Vaccination Delivery in Dalit Communities in Gujarat, India”, carried out by US-based East-West Management Institute (EWMI), in alliance with Navsarjan, finds dramatic differences in the delivery of immunization services between Dalits and non-Dalits. Combining rural and urban areas, the study finds that on the whole 15.8 per cent Dalit missed in polio vaccination campaigns (15.8 per cent), as against non-Dalit children’s 6.0 per cent. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

Eleven human rights defenders, including Navsarjan founder Martin Macwan, relate their life experiences in “Trailblazers: In the Footsteps of Eleven Human Rights Defenders” (ISBN 978-94-6022-186-6; KIT Publishers, 2012). The contributors include Rebiya Kadeer from East Turkestan, Soe Myint from Burma, Martin Macwan from India, Khassan Baiev from Chechnya, Aminatou Haidar from Western Sahara, Samuel Kofi Woods from Liberia, Vuyiseka Dubula from South Africa, Maria Gunnoe from the United States, Pablo Fajardo from Ecuador, Liliana Ortega from Venezuela, and Sheila Watt from Cloutier (Nunavut) Canada. The testimonies have thing in common: The local illustrates the global. (Available at http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.amazon.in/, http://www.junglee.com/, http://www.abebooks.co.uk/)

“Gender-Violence and Access to Justice” is a Navsarjan study carried out with the support of the Minority Rights Group International. It seeks to demonstrate that Dalit women remain susceptible to violence that pervades their villages, homes and intimate relationships. Dalit women additionally endure precarious access to justice, as they often face case delays and other barriers when seeking to file legal claims. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“Broken Can Heal: The Life and Work of Manjula Pradeep of India” by Amy S. Choi, a peace writer, was written for the 2011 Women PeaceMakers Programme of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ), a unit of the University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. It provides a glowing account of how Pradeep took up issues of social injustices, devoting her life to championing the dignity and rights of the Dalit community. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“Understading Untouchability”, a comprehensive study of practices and conditions in 1,589 villages in Gujarat, conducted by Navsarjan and Robert F.Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, presents both a general and multi-disciplinary view of current untouchability practices across rural areas in Gujarat (bringing together political science, sociology, law, public policy and community organizing) and provides evidence to refute the belief that untouchability is limited to remote and economically underdeveloped corners of India. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

Covering eight districts, the study, “A Legally Immune form of Discrimination: Report on Socioeconomic Boycotts of Dalits in Gujarat”, carried out by Jenny Paleaz, who worked at Navsarjan Trust as a research fellow, attempts to illuminate how boycotts are used against Dalits who assert their rights in rural Gujarat, the effects on boycotted Dalits, and how the government has failed to protect the most vulnerable segment of its population from this systemized violation of human rights. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“A Report of Public Hearing on Atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat” is based on the hearing in Ahmedabad on 31st March 2008. It has been prepared by Jeena Shah, an attorney from the United States, who joined Navsarjan as a fellow from American India Foundation and worked in Navsarjan for 10 months. The cases described in detail in this report give a glimpse about the real scenario of the Dalit plight and the response of the criminal justice system. It also gives a true picture of the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of the authorities, and ultimately, it reiterates that India is ruled by caste system and not by law. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“Dalit Rights” by Martin Macwan, Navsarjan founder, is one of the several dossiers prepared by the National Human Rights Commission on different issues related with human rights in India. Written by senior activists, advocates and key persons associated with the movement for the rights of vulnerable sections of the society, these dossiers serve as reference material for human rights education in universities. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“Education for Social Reengineering: A Concept note to Support Dalit Movement through Primary Education”, an essay by Navsarjan founder Martin Macwan, argues that when one speaks of education for Dalits, one is talking of their empowerment to challenge the caste based discrimination and the way of life determined by the Verna ideology, that has strengthened the caste system. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

In “Is the Present Education a Tool for Liberation of Dalit Women?”, Manjula Pradeep, executive director, Navsarjan, asks crucial questions: Are the needs, issues and concerns of SC females and other females similar or common? If not then do they have specific programs for the development of SC women through education? And, by just providing scholarships, uniform, etc., is it possible to increase the literacy rate amongst the SCs? (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)

“Untouchable in School: Experiences of Dalit Children in Schools in Gujarat”, by Simone Holzwarth, Soumya Kanthy and Rosarie Tucci, published by the Indian Institute for Dalit Studies, is based on Summer Internship Programme 2006 of UNICEF India with the active participation of Navsarjan. The study is based on the perception that, as a public space, schools are suppose to be non-discriminatory and inclusive, designed as a vehicle for social mobility. However, as untouchability and discrimination exist in society, schools inevitably reflect this social phenomenon. (CLICK HERE for pdf download)

Michael Kropac’s “Dalit Empowerment and Vocational Education: An Impact Study”, is based on the author’s thesis submitted to the University of Basel (Switzerland) in December 2005, based on his experiences with Dalits at the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), founded by Navsarjan founder Martin Macwan. The study evaluates the social, economic and spatial impact of the DSK programme on the participating students. It aims at finding out whether such vocational training programme can be a successful way to socially and economically empower a deprived minority. (CLICK HERE for pdf copy)